Mashups and APIs

Mashups are interesting, but seem to be of varying quality. This is a concept GIS experts have used for some time now, with more sophistication. I looked at several of these but a few were too hard to read or did not seem very useful, at least to me. The one I liked the best combined job openings and maps. Though the maps were worldwide, I concentrated on U.S. looking for jobs for someone I know who is looking right now. The variety of postings was good and it was well displayed. There are doubtless many important applications for mashups.

Through Rollyo, I looked at several blogs on privacy written by librarians. That's an interesting concept in Web 2.0 since the web inherently can remove so much of that. I agreed with Annoyed Librarian that s/he should be free to post under a pseudonym. Some organizations are not comfortable with their employees expressing opinions they might not endorse, even in a non-working environment. Some people want to maintain their privacy for other reasons as well, not the least of which is the concern over identity theft. Shifted? Shifty? Librarian discussed the proposal to allow the government to have even more access to private information in the name of security for citizens. Does no one remember what happened before WW II when such things took place in Europe?

Podcasting and Online Hosted Videos

Podcasting seems to offer real potential for libraries. What a great way to add something useful to a website which users can refer back to at their convenience and download to take with them. The old "pathfinders" can become audio and updated as often as necessary. Physicians have used audiocassettes for keeping up on topics for years--this can be a similar, yet newer, way for librarians to join in.

We plan to use podcasts for a comomunity book project to generate interest in the chosen book and highlight the topics with background information. Library science students may be creating the podcasts so we can all learn from the experience.

YouTube and other hosted videos have potential, too, but also privacy issues. Since there are other means of educational online methods, such as webinars, this might be just one choice, and maybe not always the best choice.

Online photo sharing

There can be some real advantages to using this method of photosharing. I'm somewhat familiar with Flickr. I'm not entirely clear on the Creative Commons--was it created to skirt areas of copyright law we may not like?

Web Office Tools

Is this concept the wave of the future? Possibly, but unless security is no longer an issue, it may not be ready for prime time. I work in an institution which chose Sharepoint over Google Docs for security reasons. The idea of sharing documents to work on them with others or even to work on them from multiple locations without emailing them or carrying a flash drive is great. There are simply times when users must be sure that the audience for these documents, spreadsheets and presentations is under control. Think of the remote, but still possible, HIPAA violations in medical libraries.

Social Bookmarking

The concept of having bookmarks available no matter where you are instead of tied to one computer is most useful. The tagging has some advantages as does using tags already present and assigned by others. Of course, isn't that we do with MeSH and LCSH plus a little textwording thrown in?

I read the articles on Connotea and Citeulike and found those more intriguing than Delicious. To be able to use the bookmarks and roll it all into a bibliographic manager has real potential. Connotea is limited to science and could be more applicable to medical libraries. These two resources sound like they offer possibilities worth exploring.

Social Networking Tools

It's not hard to see how Facebook or MySpace could be used for MLA members to connect online. It's simpler to find them if you don't have an email address or even know where they are located.

I'm not working in a formal library but there has been some experimenting with using Facebook as a forum to communicate about human rights issues. It has not worked very well and the student who initiated this effort thinks it is because people want to use these tools for primarily social reasons and not serious discussions. I think she may be right about that.

There are definitely privacy concerns which some people don't seem to realize when they use social networking sites. It's not a place to say anything or post a picture which you don't want the world to see. It's probably more public than email.

My experience with MySpace was limited to the two library sites we were encouraged to see at Brooklyn College and Denver Public. Both were clever but definitely aimed at a young audience. Facebook was a surprise in two ways. I was contacted by a friend I had not heard from in years who found me on there, which was a nice connection, and I was able to exchange messages with a former colleague--both good experiences. Looking at the walls and exchanges for a few of my Facebook friends showed just how available information is to anyone who seeks it. That was sobering.

Blogs vs wikis

Blogs seem to be like writing an opinion piece or starting a conversation which others can join in. That's fine if you want the whole universe to join in. Wikis seem more constructive in that you can store information on a particular topic. I like that you can invite in contributors and it does not have to be a free for all with no real editing control. Some of my colleagues are are geographically distant from me. We think we will start a wiki to share the best resources for topics we are researching and to keep track of who does what and when. If we can keep it to a small group of people (for now), we have the chance to build this resource and decide if it is of value to others once it is completed.